PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Moochie Norris made sure the Houston Rockets
did not need overtime this time.

Norris drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer off a feed from Steve
Francis to give the Rockets a 103-100 victory over the Phoenix
Suns.

Houston set up for one final shot with the game tied at 100-100
with 14 seconds to go. Francis began his drive to the basket
with six seconds left and met traffic in the paint before
dishing to a wide-open Norris near the top of the key. Norris
swished his shot as time expired.

"We were talking about the mismatch we could get on the 1-on-1,"
Norris said. "I personally knew that they were going to leave
me. This is something you dream of, hitting the game-winning
shot in the NBA. As soon as I shot it, I knew it was good."

Houston had won its first two games this season in overtime. The
game-winner was not a new experience for Norris, who banked home
a 34-footer at the buzzer at Golden State for a 98-95 victory
last December 14.

Norris' 3-pointer capped a closing 30-12 run by Houston, which
trailed 88-73 with 8:31 to go. The final 3 1/2 minutes featured
three lead changes and two ties.

Walt Williams nailed a 3-pointer to give the Rockets their first
lead of the quarter at 92-91. He assisted on a three-point play
by Kevin Willis for a 95-93 edge with 2:32 to go before Tom
Gugliotta answered with a baseline jumper.

"We were just trying to keep it together, at the end we were
starting to look more solid," Williams said. "Yesterday against
Minnesota, we did not play smart, especially down the stretch.
Tonight, we did not make those mistakes."

A dunk by Willis gave Houston a 100-98 lead before Penny
Hardaway's reverse dunk tied it with 61 seconds to go. Cuttino
Mobley missed a jumper for the Rockets, but Hardaway missed and
Jake Tsakalidis' follow attempt was blocked by Willis with 15
seconds to go.

Mobley led Houston with 26 points. He made 6-of-7 3-pointers as
the Rockets made 10-of-16 from the arc. Kenny Thomas scored 16
points and Willis chipped in 12 off the bench.

"A big three by Walt, a big three by Cuttino, interior passing
and pretty good defense on the interior," Rockets coach Rudy
Tomjanovich said. "A big win for us, for our morale, and we made
so many mistakes in the last quarter but it could not have
worked out better."

Hardaway scored 31 points and Stephon Marbury added 27 for the
Suns. But the duo combined for just 11 points in the fourth
quarter.

"They became the aggressors and we became passive on defense,"
Hardaway said. "They made a lot of jump shots. It seems like the
one pick-and-roll they kept running with Moochie Norris, Walt
Williams and Kevin Willis rolling into the post just killed us."

Gugliotta was the only other Sun in double figures with 10
points. Shawn Marion struggled to get untracked, making just
4-of-12 shots for eight points.

"I had a funny feeling the whole time, 'cause our defense was
poor," Suns coach Scott Skiles said. "They made 14-of-17
(actually 13-of-19 in the fourth) and the last few were layups."

Marbury made 11-of-18 shots and Hardaway made 13-of-23 but the
duo failed to defend Houston's pick-and-roll well.

"Both players had good offensive games," Skiles said. "But for
whatever reason, as a team, we're not able to stop anybody."